The top reported proficiency rate is 89% in English language arts. The lowest is 80% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Old Mill Elementary
Old Mill Elementary sits in downtown Mill Valley, a small wooded residential community at the base of Mount Tamalpais with a strong walkable village center and close ties to the San Francisco Bay Area. The school itself is a neighborhood fixture on Throckmorton Avenue near civic anchors like the public library and Old Mill Park, in a setting where elementary education and community life overlap rather than occupy separate campuses.
The school enrolls a small cohort of students in a well-resourced environment. A very small proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white with a meaningful share identifying as multiracial and a smaller Hispanic presence. Data on special populations including students with disabilities and English learners was not available from state records.
Academic performance is a clear strength. On the 2024-25 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, students across tested grades show strong proficiency in English Language Arts, with fourth graders particularly high and fifth graders also performing well. Math proficiency is solid and consistent across grades three through five, with fourth grade again standing out. Fifth graders showed comparable proficiency on the California Science Test. Overall proficiency at the school places it in the top quartile among public school districts in Marin County. These results reflect a school where students are acquiring grade-level literacy and numeracy skills at rates well above the county median.
The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade in a traditional public school format. It is part of the Mill Valley Elementary School District, which in 2025 adopted a new elementary English Language Arts curriculum aligned with the science of reading, emphasizing foundational literacy skills and cultural literacy. This is a district-wide shift in how reading and writing are taught in elementary classrooms that families choosing the school would experience directly.
Two ongoing fiscal and policy dimensions shape the school district context. Voters approved a major school facilities bond in 2022 that is funding modernization of the middle school and improvements across district schools, adding property tax costs that new residents weighing a move should factor into housing affordability calculations. Separately, a parcel tax measure is on the ballot in June 2026 that would renew the district's ongoing annual levy and generate a substantial share of the district budget. The district has cautioned that failure to renew would force teacher layoffs and program cuts. For prospective families, this represents an ongoing local tax obligation alongside mortgage or rent.
Mill Valley itself is a tight-knit, slow-growth residential town with a compact downtown featuring boutique retail and local restaurants, surrounded by wooded neighborhoods. Housing is expensive, with home values well above state and national medians and rental costs high relative to income. The community values walkability and outdoor access; downtown scores highly on pedestrian-friendliness, and residents use multiuse pathways and local parks extensively. Public transit connects the town to San Francisco via Golden Gate Transit commuter service. For families drawn to a village-scale community with strong schools, accessible town life, and proximity to both nature and the Bay Area, Old Mill Elementary offers solid academics within a small, cohesive neighborhood school setting.
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